32 replies to this topic

[theagenes]

Conan Meets the Academy
Multidisciplinary Essays on the Enduring Barbarian

Edited by Jonas Prida


Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-6152-3
EBook ISBN: 978-0-7864-8989-3
5 maps, 2 photos, tables, notes, bibliography, index
softcover (6 x 9) 2012

Buy Now!
Price: $35.00
Not Yet Published, Available Spring/Summer 2012



About the Book
In 1932, Robert E. Howard penned a series of fantasy stories featuring Conan, a hulking Cimmerian warrior who roamed the mythical Hyborian Age landscape engaging in heroic adventures. More than the quirky manifestation of Depression-era magazines, Conan the Barbarian has endured as a cultural mainstay for over 70 years. This multidisciplinary collection offers the first scholarly investigation of Conan, from Howard’s early stories, through mid-century novels and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic films, to the 2011 cinematic remake of Conan the Barbarian. Drawing on disciplines such as stylometry, archeology, cultural studies, folklore studies, and literary history, the essays examine statistical analyses of Conan texts, the literary genesis of Conan, later-day parodies, Conan video games, and much more. By displaying the wide range of academic interest in Conan, this volume reveals the hidden scholarly depth of this seemingly unsophisticated fictional character.

About the Author
Jonas Prida is an assistant professor of English and head of the English Department at the College of St. Joseph, in Rutland, Vermont.


Link:
http://www.mcfarland...8-0-7864-6152-3

[Taranaich]

This multidisciplinary collection offers the first scholarly investigation of Conan

That mind-blogging assertion aside, I'd be interested in seeing exactly what essays and discussions we'll be seeing here.

[theagenes]

I brought up that problematic sentence with Jonas this morning after I saw it and there is some discussion underway right now about changing it. His intent was not to diss all of the previous REH scholarship, but to point out that this is the first study of Conan as an over-all pop culture figure---not just Howard's Conan. But the sentence is poorly worded---hopefully it won't be much of a problem to get it changed.

[Taranaich]

I suspected it would be something like that: it's inconceivable that anyone doing that much research into Conan as a cultural figure would somehow miss all the scholarship that's out there.

Still, I had some fun with it.

[Ironhand]

What about calling it "the first analytical investigation of Conan"?

Edited by Ironhand, 13 October 2011 - 06:16 AM.

[theagenes]

Just an update on Conan Meets the Academy. The galleys are being proofed at this very moment and if all goes well, it may be out by the holidays (*fingers crossed*) coinciding with Conan's 80th anniversary. I've had a chance to read all of the other articles and there is some excellent scholarship here. Of particular interest is Stephen Wall's article, which is a study of these boards!

Here is a rundown of the articles:

Part One: The Literary Conan
"Hyborian Age Archeology: Unearthing Historical and Anthropological Foundations" by Jeffrey Shanks
"Barbarism Ascendant: The Poetic and Epistolary Origins of the Character and his World" by Frank Coffman
"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Women: Gender Dynamics in the Hyborian World" by Winter Elliott
"Robert E. Howard's Barbarian and the Western: A Study of Conan through the West and the Western Hero" by Daniel Weiss
"Canaan Lies Beyond the Black River: Howard's Dark Rhetoric of the Contact Zone" by Paul Shovlin
"Statistics in the Hyborian Age: An Introduction to Stylometery" by Daniel Look

Part Two: The Cultural Conan
"Arnold at the Gates: Subverting Star Persona in Conan the Barbarian" by Nicky Falkof
"Hot Avatars" in "Gay Gear": The Virtual Male Body as Site of Conflicting Desires in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures" by James Kelly
"Fandom and the Nostalgia of Masculinity" by Stephen Wall
"'Barbarian Heroing' and Its Parody: New Perspectives on Masculinity" Imola Bulgozdi

[Dan N.]

Especially after seeing what's going to be in it (the Literary Conan section will be hugely helpful), I'd love to put this on my comps list, but 35 bucks? Looks like it might be Ramen dinners for a few weeks....

[theagenes]

Especially after seeing what's going to be in it (the Literary Conan section will be hugely helpful), I'd love to put this on my comps list, but 35 bucks? Looks like it might be Ramen dinners for a few weeks....

And that's paperback. If it were hardback it would easily be in the $70-80 range. Academic press with a modest print run---what can you do?

Daniel, we need to get some of your REH work published!

[docpod]

McFarland books do show up with deep discounts at Edward R. Hamilton Bookseller. My opinion of McFarland did go down quite a bit when it published four Ben Zoom books (Leiber, Bloch, Blatty, and Harris).

Morgan

[Rargentum]

I'd love a read, but why is this not available on Kindle?

[Haemogoblin]

I'd love a read, but why is this not available on Kindle?

It'd be great if that happened. I hope the publishers jump on the bandwagon of making academic works more widely available with digital distribution.

Also, I got a kick out of the fact that 75% of the essays in the "Cultural Conan" seem to focus in some way on masculinity. While no doubt worthwhile, three essays in a row on the topic could be more than a little tedious. There's got to be other areas of Conan's broader cultural legacy than just gender perceptions. Oh well, maybe it's just what's en vogue academically.

[theagenes]

Some academic publishers definitely are starting to do ebooks, so imagine all of the major ones (like MacFarland) will eventually follow suit. I think that's inevitable.

As for the masculinity issue, I would say that gender studies in general is a popular area of research. Conan and REH are naturally great subjects for masculinity scholars. I know that when Mark and I were talking to the masculinity folks at PCA they were very much interested in REH.

[THE KID]

I'd love a read, but why is this not available on Kindle?

What I did and you can do too is click "I'd like to read this on a Kindle". I and other fans have done this on REH and Hans Holzer's other books that weren't but now on Kindle; The voice of the customer.

Amazon's reply was "Thank you for requesting this book in Kindle Edition. Our goal is to make every title available for Kindle. We will pass your specific request on to the publisher."

Folks - There is an Ereader Forum here at the REH/Conan Forum. If you have an ereader and/or considering one please visit.

Conan Meets The Academy - Multidisciplinary Essays On The Enduring Bar has not yet been released. You may pre-order it. Not Yet Published, Available Spring/Summer 2013

I'm getting the book first and if it comes out on Kindle later that, too.

Edited by THE KID, 21 October 2012 - 04:10 PM.

[theagenes]

So it appears that Conan Meets the Academy came out on Tuesday. On amazon it's saying 4 to 6 weeks for delivery, so I'm assuming it would be faster to order it straight from McFarland. Unfortunately their website appears to be down at the moment for server maintenance so I can't confirm that.

http://www.mcfarland...8-0-7864-6152-3

[THE KID]

So it appears that Conan Meets the Academy came out on Tuesday. On amazon it's saying 4 to 6 weeks for delivery, so I'm assuming it would be faster to order it straight from McFarland. Unfortunately their website appears to be down at the moment for server maintenance so I can't confirm that.

http://www.mcfarland...8-0-7864-6152-3

Thanks! Per Amazon if ordered now will be received by Christmas!! $35 Paperback 224 pages

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store. If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in the Kindle Store.

Edited by THE KID, 22 November 2012 - 08:22 PM.

[THE KID]

I'd love a read, but why is this not available on Kindle?

It'd be great if that happened. I hope the publishers jump on the bandwagon of making academic works more widely available with digital distribution.

Also, I got a kick out of the fact that 75% of the essays in the "Cultural Conan" seem to focus in some way on masculinity. While no doubt worthwhile, three essays in a row on the topic could be more than a little tedious. There's got to be other areas of Conan's broader cultural legacy than just gender perceptions. Oh well, maybe it's just what's en vogue academically.

I agree. If you have a Kindle just click on Amazon "I'd like to read this on Kindle."

Also - please visit the Ereader forum here for us digital ereaders for some fun, freebies, and special surprises! Just type in Search block upper right hand corner of REH Forum and type ereader than click the last arrow for the most current post.

I've got to get this book one way or another!

Edited by THE KID, 22 November 2012 - 08:31 PM.

[theagenes]

So it appears that Conan Meets the Academy came out on Tuesday. On amazon it's saying 4 to 6 weeks for delivery, so I'm assuming it would be faster to order it straight from McFarland. Unfortunately their website appears to be down at the moment for server maintenance so I can't confirm that.

http://www.mcfarland...8-0-7864-6152-3

Thanks! Per Amazon if ordered now will be received by Christmas!! $35 Paperback 224 pages

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store. If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in the Kindle Store.

If you ordered it from Amazon, cancel it and order it directly from McFarland. The link is working now. I ordered one on Friday and it came today. (Couldn't wait for my contributor's copy--no telling when that will get here).

[cromsblood]

Of particular interest is Stephen Wall's article, which is a study of these boards!

Ok, who's going to buy this book solely because of this article? Be honest.

[theagenes]

Of particular interest is Stephen Wall's article, which is a study of these boards!

Ok, who's going to buy this book solely because of this article? Be honest.

I'll say this, he was a lot nicer than he probably could have been.

But a number of prolific boardies get mentioned, including Painbrush, Buxom Sorceress, Mikey_C, Konorg, etc. It was an interesting read.

[THE KID]

I got a Christmas gift card and just ordered it for $31.01.

Edited by THE KID, 26 December 2012 - 04:27 PM.